


One Hundred Ways to Say 'I Love You'

by trixicbean



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Kara Danvers Character Study, Lena Luthor Character Study, POV Lena Luthor, Slice of Life, pure fluff, this is only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26393548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trixicbean/pseuds/trixicbean
Summary: Lena has a lot of walls. Kara has a lot of love. Turns out love is the best way to break into an impenetrable fortress.Character analysis of how Kara loves and how Lena lets her.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 44
Kudos: 450





	One Hundred Ways to Say 'I Love You'

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to my beautiful wonderful amazing best friend, Xanthe, for betaing this for me.

When Alex suggested that they’d already told each other that they loved each other a thousand times before they actually spoke the three words, Lena dismissed it as complete bullshit but then she looked back and realised there were hundreds before Kara uttered those words on a mundane Monday morning in the middle of the two of them rushing out the door. It slipped out like it was the most natural thing to say and Lena found her heart saying how she felt before her brain could stop it. 

Maybe it was those hundreds of little things that broke down Lena’s walls by the time Kara said it. When she said it there was nothing for Lena to hide behind and nothing to build back up. It was just her and Kara in her stone fortress and for the first time, she didn’t care Kara was there because she turned her stone fortress into the most elegant and beautiful palace. 

It was subtle in the beginning. Kara’s way of insisting on walking her home after everything they did together. “I’ll walk you home,” she would always just shrug and hook her arm around Lena’s and start to walk to her place even though it was on the other side of town to Kara’s. 

And when she didn’t walk Lena home, which she only agreed to do if she had seen her get safely into the car, she would always say the same thing. “Call me when you get home,”. It started at a shout with a smile and wave as Lena drove off but then it was after they broke apart from the hug Kara always pulled Lena into but then after Kara finally built up the nerve to ask Lena out it was whispered into her ear softly after giving Lena a quick kiss. That was her favourite way to hear it. 

Then there was the way she would always run ahead of Lena to push the door open with a huge smile and announce, “After you,” in the worst posh British accent in the world which somehow managed to make Lena fall in love with Kara even more. She would always add random things on the end too, “After you, princess,” or “After you, madame,” or “After you, beautiful,” or Lena’s secret favourite, “After you, cutie pie,”. Kara would always whisper that in her ear with a smug smile like it was something dirty. 

But the one that would always make her feel the most loved was how Kara would always turn to her and ask her, with every single ounce of sincerity in the multiverse, “What do you want to do?”. She would always say it like Lena’s opinion was the only one in the world that ever mattered to Kara and after Lena suggested something Kara would make it her mission to make sure Lena was happy. Actually, Lena felt like it was always Kara’s mission to make her happy and would always brush it off with “I’m happy if you’re happy, sweetheart,”. The ‘sweetheart’ and a small kiss only being added after they started dating. 

The subtlest thing (yet the most glaringly obvious to anyone who knew Kara) was her love language of food, yet it would somehow cause the most controversy. That’s what had started the conversation in the first place with Alex getting annoyed after Lena had managed to steal the final piece of pizza for the hundredth game night in a row, Kara’s superspeed was an amazing advantage. 

There would always be “I saved you a piece,” of everything Kara ate, from cake to pizza to cookies and everything else and Kara ate a lot of food. However, Kara would always save her favourites most, flying into Lena’s office or her apartment with “Rao! You have to try this, Lena! I know you said no more bad food but this is amazing!” while holding a plate or bowl of food in front of her.

Their desert dilemma was always Kara’s greatest gesture. Lena never ordered desert. Kara always ordered dessert and after a bit, Kara always pushed her plate toward Lena and handed her the fork with a small smile and laugh, “Try it!” and then if Lena liked it she would always smile victoriously, as she had made it, and say, “You can have half,” or “You can finish it,” as though Kara didn’t have the biggest food addiction in the multiverse. 

But it was Potsticker Gate where the controversy really took off. All Lena did was take the last potsticker, okay she and Kara weren’t dating then and they were only best friends but Lena had her legs up on Kara’s lap and all she had to do was lean over and grab it and Kara didn’t even blink and Lena didn’t really think about it until...   
  
“What the fuck!” Alex yelled, standing up with such speed that it would have flipped over the table if it weren’t for Kelly pushing her back a little to stop that from happening. Brainy seemed to turn white as a ghost as Alex stared down Kara and Lena who were just sitting innocently on the couch. “The Last Potsticker!” she screamed before taking a deep breath and speaking again. It was calmer but no less scary, “You let Lena have The Last Potsticker!” she put emphasis on Lena’s name like she was the person Alex least expected to get the last potsticker. 

“I am sincerely offended that you would say my name in such a way,” Lena gasped dramatically. 

“The. Last. Potsticker,” Alex spoke slowly, moving toward Kara and Lena, Kelly pushing her feet so she didn’t step on the coffee table and destroy the Monopoly game Lena and Kara were about to kick ass in. 

“It’s Lena,” Kara just shrugged, using the arm wrapped around Lena to pull her closer. Lena got a little distracted after that due to a not-so-small crush on the person whose neck her head was pretty much buried in but from what she understood the conversation largely consisted of Alex pacing up and down and yelling “The Last Potsticker!” while Kara would reply with a shrug and some version of “It’s Lena,”. 

Naive Lena who hadn’t kissed Kara yet and thought the beautiful blonde bombshell didn’t like her back thought she really needed to get over her crush. Future Lena who spent a lot of time kissing the aforementioned beautiful blonde bombshell was very glad she didn’t. She was also very glad for that stupid present Kara got her because realistically, once you start to sleep with the present your best friend (and major crush) bought you, you have really fallen and there is no going back. 

“I got you something!” Kara practically skipped through the open door of Lena’s balcony, her suit dematerialising as she did. Lena was not in the best state, bent over her laptop with her hair in a messy bun and her thick-rimmed glasses perched on her nose as she crammed in the last of her work but she was used to these visits from Kara, especially since the whole identity reveal thing and Kara had made them even more regular.

“Did I forget about my birthday or something?” Lena joked, trying to hide her blush and thanking God for her habit of working in the darkness, she really needed to sort her stupid crush out. 

“I said I got you one thing. You would get like a hundred things and multiple cakes and a party if it was your birthday,” Kara laughed, placing a gift bag down in front of Lena proudly. It was so big Lena had to wonder where Kara found a gift bag that size but then again it was Kara and that was all the explanation she needed. Darkness wouldn't help hide Lena’s blush at all now; she was pretty sure it could be a light source. 

“Well, what did you get me then?” Lena sighed, going to peer inside the gift bag.

“First, I have to say I literally only saw this this afternoon so you can’t judge me on the wrapping,” Kara made Lena look up at her before she could look in. 

“You didn’t have to get me anything. Why are you worrying about the wrapping?” she laughed. 

“Wrapping is one of the best parts!” Kara protested, “I just ran out of paper after Alex’s birthday and forgot to buy more,” she pouted.

  
“It’s okay, darling, don’t worry,” Lena smiled fondly at her best friend. Kara seemed to relax a bit as Lena looked back into the bag. It was a teddy bear. A very familiar teddy bear. 

“It reminded me of you. I don’t know why,” Kara spoke softly as Lena stared at it in shock. She was trying to remember if she told Kara the story of the teddy that her mum had got her before everything. She fell into a pit of memories and flashbacks from her childhood years.

Lena suddenly became aware that Kara was still talking, a very high-level ramble. “I know it might seem like a childish thing but I saw it and I don’t know why but I thought of you and I just knew I had to buy it,”. 

“Honey,” Lena took a deep breath, cutting her off, “I love it,” Lena smiled, hugging it to her chest. It looked so unusually like the one that Lena had when she was younger before Lillian had taken it away. She took a deep breath, “I had one like this when I was younger,” she looked down at it softly. 

“Really?” Kara’s eyes lit up as she sat down on the stool next to Lena. 

It might have been that simple question that completely shattered Lena’s walls into dust or it was the look on Kara’s face or it was just Kara but she began to talk about her childhood in a way she had never done before, not even with Lex. 

Then there were all the other little gifts like the time Kara returned from a mission, still in her suit with her ash coated face and smoke smelling hair, but she still was still holding her hands behind her back with a smug smile. 

“I got you something, Lee Lee,” she singsonged, walking around Lena’s desk. Lena turned her chair so she followed Kara with her eyes, leaning forward on her hands to look at Kara. The nickname was a new thing that Kara had introduced. 

“I keep telling you don’t have to get me anything,” Lena sighed. 

“Yeah, but you’re my best friend and you’ll love these,” Kara laughed, brandishing the flowers from behind her back. Plumerias. “I picked them for you!”. 

“Thank you, darling,” Lena smiled, standing up to go to Kara, “But weren’t you just downtown,” Lena narrowed her eyes, taking the flowers from Kara and going to find a vase. 

“I took a pitstop in Hawaii,” Kara shrugged, she still had one hand behind her back and was turning as Lena moved around the room. 

“A pitstop?” Lena questioned, “Isn’t it a million miles out of your way?” she poured her water jug into the vase before placing it on the coffee table. 

“Actually, it’s only 2,521 miles out of the way,” Kara corrected. “Technically, 5,042 miles if we talk about there and back,” she added in a mumble, “And then the 1,852 miles there and back to your favourite Big Belly Burger in Metropolis,” Kara smiled, bringing out the second hand behind her back. Lena honestly could have admitted that she loved Kara right there and then. 

“Kara?” Lena opened the door to her apartment. Kara never used the door, “You know I leave the balcony unlocked for you,” Lena laughed. 

“I know but I wanted to come and see you before your press conference because I know you’re nervous and I didn’t want to walk in on you changing,” Kara smiled brightly, walking in as Lena stepped aside to let her. 

“I’m not nervous,” Lena denied, sticking her hands in her pocket so Kara couldn’t see them shaking. Kara looked down at Lena’s hands with a smile. 

“Sure,” Kara laughed, “Also, I got you something,”. 

“You don’t need to keep getting me things,” Lena smiled, shaking her head. It was becoming much more of a habit for Kara to bring Lena random things. 

“It didn’t cost anything,” Kara smiled, “Close your eyes and hold out your hands,”. 

“Why?” Lena asked suspiciously even though she already knew she would do whatever Kara said as long as she got to her smile. 

“Just do it,” Kara pouted, reaching into her bag.

“Fine,” Lena shut her eyes, bringing her hands out of her pocket and slipping her eyes shut. Something light and square was dropped into Lena’s hands, Kara’s hands torturously grazing over Lena’s as she placed there. Lena’s breath hitched in her throat as every single sense seemed to light on fire, Kara consuming all of her. 

“You can open them now,”. Lena could hear Kara’s excited smile and see her shining face in her mind’s eye as she felt over the object in her hands. Some kind of magazine. Lena took a deep breath as her eyes opened slowly, focusing on Kara’s excited face instead of the object in her hands. She eventually looked down to see her own face staring back at her. 

“I said I didn’t want to see it,” Lena laughed, turning bright red as she studied the magazine cover, “I hate seeing my own face,”.

“Why though? You’re so beautiful,” Kara pouted, “And look,” she pointed to the writing, “Lena Luthor: The Good Luthor,”. Lena looked up at Kara’s wide and bright smile, “People are finally realising it!” she laughed, bringing Lena into a hug before Lena could register what’s happening. Lena relaxed into it, breathing in Kara’s scent before she stopped herself. Kara was her best friend, nothing more. 

Kara made it a little bit of her habit to come and see Lena before every single press conference just to make sure Lena was feeling okay. She was also the only reporter who had backstage access but she never ever used it to get a quote off Lena, just to be there for her. Her favourite visit though was before her worst press conference, mainly because she couldn’t think of anything but Kara (not a bad thing but she found it very hard to focus). 

“Kara!” Lena called into the living room. 

“What is it?”. Lena would never really get used to the super speed as Kara materialised in the bedroom. 

“Can you zip me up, please?” Lena smiled, turning around so her back faced Kara and instantly regretting it. She should have just worn another suit. She could feel the tension in the room increase tenfold as she watched Kara taking a step towards her in the mirror. 

“Of course,” Kara’s voice was far too shaky. Lena swallowed and averted her eyes from Kara’s in the mirror. She felt the air around her back shift as Kara’s hands moved closer, hesitating millimetres from Lena’s zip. 

She stayed there for what felt like a century until Lena felt her hands surge forward and ghost over her skin as she picked up the zip. The hissing of the zip slowly moving up Lena’s back was the only thing that cut through the tense silence in the room. Kara’s skin ghosting over Lena’s spine as she pulled it up her back. Lena really needed to get her crush under control. The hissing stopped as it reached the top, Kara’s hand resting at the base of Lena’s neck for a second before she dropped the zip and her hand fell to her side again. 

“All done,” she coughed, an octave too high. 

“Thank you,” Lena breathed, finally looking up to catch Kara’s eye in the mirror. 

“It’s no problem,” Kara smiled, it was like the sun, lighting up the whole room. What if it was one of her superpowers? Maybe Lena could investigate that. She tried to gather her thoughts for a second. 

“What do you think?” she asked, indicating her outfit as she spun around to face Kara. She should have taken a step back, they were so far into each other’s space that Lena could feel Kara’s breath on her. 

“You look beautiful,” Kara breathed, she didn’t even look down at her outfit, her eyes never leaving Lena’s face. Lena’s heart was pounding in her chest, her breath hitched in her throat as she heard every bit of sincerity in Kara’s voice. She did everything to avoid looking into Kara’s eyes. If she were to look into Kara’s eyes, she would want to kiss her and Lena didn’t know if she could handle that. 

“You always look beautiful,” Kara breathed and Lena gave in, looking up at Kara. Looking back she could have said those words right then. 

Kara took a step back and she swore in that second her heart broke a little as Kara turned away and started to pace up and down the room a bit, wringing her hands together. 

“What’s going on, darling?” Lena’s own voice sounded like it didn’t even come from her mouth, she was so lost in her head and so far into her thoughts.

“Alex said I should just ask you but I don’t want to lose you and screw this up because,” Kara took a deep breath, she was speaking faster than Lena could register. “Do you want to go out to dinner sometime?” Kara turned to Lena, the whole question came out in one breath. 

Lena hoped Kara was asking what Lena thought she was asking but she didn’t want to trip over herself and lose Kara. 

“I always want to go to dinner with you,” Lena smiled. 

“Not like that,” Kara swallowed, taking another deep breath, “More like a date. Like a romantic one,”. 

“I’d like that too,” Lena breathed and she watched as relief filled Kara’s body and she had to hide her own smile. Every piece of tension in the room dissipated and Lena could have sworn she felt her world. 

“Okay,” Kara laughed, “I’ll text you?”. 

“I’m free whenever,” Lena found herself saying, she wasn’t but she could make herself free whenever. It was Kara. The look of relief on Kara’s face that turned to happiness was the one thing that Lena could think about the next few days. 

Their date was on the Friday evening, much to Jess’ chagrin as she reorganised all of Lena’s schedule to fit it in. Kara had refused to tell Lena what the plan was but after a lot of begging, she told Lena to dress casually (basically Lena’s worst nightmare). Lena hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off her face and Sam wouldn’t let her forget it but then Kara picked her up at her penthouse, something she insisted on, Lena decided that it was worth it without even a second thought. 

Looking back Lena could now see all the different secret signals of love. The way Kara was practically shaking with nerves as they walked down the street and honestly Lena felt the same. The fear of losing Kara, of something changing, was consuming her but then Kara’s voice broke through the silence. 

“Can I hold your hand?” she whispered. Lena hadn’t moved faster to take Kara’s hand in hers, the contact sending a happy warmth spreading through her body and causing her heart to beat ten times faster. The only other times they’d held hands was when they were running from something and they’d randomly grabbed each other’s hands. 

Kara’s hands slipped into hers like it was made to rest there. Lena looked over to Kara with a huge smile. “How was CatCo today?” Lena smiled and it was like a switch was flicked and they became Kara and Lena again as Kara recounted her day in one of her long rambles but this time with their hands linked together and swinging between them. 

They ended up going to a park where Kara had laid out the most amazing picnic and they spent the whole time talking, laughing and eating, gradually moving close to each other as the night went on so it ended with Lena cuddled up against Kara. They only noticed how late it was when Lena began to shake from the cold and which led to Kara insisting on flying Lena home, quite literally making it impossible for Lena to reject her with the cutest pout in existence. 

The silence only returned as they landed and Kara placed Lena down onto the balcony. Both of them not quite knowing what to do as they stayed in each other’s spaces, breathing each other in. Hesitating as neither of them knew what to do, whether they could do it. Lena took a small step even closer. 

“Most people go for a kiss around this time,” Lena whispered into the centimetres that lay between them. Kara visibly swallowed and Lena could see each clog turning in her brain. 

“Can I kiss you?” Kara asked in an uncertain, leaning closer. Her lips just an inch from Lena’s. 

“Do I need to be more clear?” Lena smirked, leaning in and capturing Kara’s lips on her; her eyes slipped shut as she did. It took just a millisecond for Kara to react, moving her lips against Lena’s and reaching an arm out to find Lena’s hip and pull her close, their bodies flush against each other as Lena reached her hands up to Kara’s neck, threading them into her hair. 

Their lips moved against each other with slowness and uncertainty, a cautious discovery of something new but steeping in a million certain feelings travelling between the two of them; things that couldn’t be said but things so obviously there. 

Lena insisted on sorting out the next date so it was until their third date that Kara managed to make Lena fall in head-over-heels hundreds of times. 

“I made you your favourite,” Kara singsonged as Lena pushed open the door; Kara had texted beforehand to say the door was already open. 

“You don’t know my favourite,” Lena laughed, she was still riding the happy high of their kiss a few days earlier (Lena considered that she might still be riding that high as she looked back (It was an extremely good kiss)). 

“I do,” Kara denied, pouting slightly as she stirred something in the pan. Lena put her bag and coat down as well as the wine bottle onto the counter while she walked over to Kara to check out what she was cooking. From what she knew Kara didn’t cook for the sake of her apartment and she had never told Kara her favourite food, in living memory she had never told anyone her favourite food (that wasn’t bought at a restaurant). 

Lena looked over the array of pots and pans, slowly walking closer to Kara. She pressed close to her, looking over her shoulder. “Hi,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to Kara’s cheek before stepping away again. 

“What’s my favourite then?” Lena teased, going round the counter to take a seat at Kara’s counter. 

“Anything with Halloumi,” Kara laughed, “You order it almost every time we go out to eat,”. Lena’s jaw almost dropped, she shouldn’t have gone out to eat so much with Kara. A huge smile spread across Kara’s face as she lit up victoriously.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Kara smirked. 

  
“Yes, of course, you are, darling,” Lena smiled fondly at her girlfriend. She remembered thinking of Kara as her girlfriend as she looked at her in that moment, the word only made her smile even more. Kara did the cutest little dance around the kitchen. 

“I covered it in honey, quinoa and sesame seeds and put it with avocado, onion, pepper, tomato, spiced lentil and chickpea salad,” Kara laughed, randomly holding up things to show Lena but Lena could only focus on the huge smile on Kara’s face and slightly on her complete surprise that Kara could cook that well. 

“It sounds amazing,” Lena found herself saying, her voice sounds more in awe than she expected yet it still didn’t scrape the surface of the awe that she felt for the woman in front of her. 

“Thank you. I practised it so many times I can feel the insides churning at the amount of healthiness,” Kara joked, moving what she had been doing off the heat and walking around the counter to Lena, “Alex thought I had been infected by Red Kryptonite again and was trying to kill her by poisoning her when I asked her to try it because she’d never actually seen me try to cook which is ridiculous because I co-”. Lena found herself standing up and doing one thing she’d always wanted to do when Kara was rambling. She cut her off with a kiss. 

It was better than Lena had imagined Kara’s hands moving to her hips and pulling Lena closer as Lena felt Kara’s whole body relax underneath her hands. When the kiss ended their bodies were pressed together and they’d brought each other impossibly close. Kara looked down a little into Lena’s eyes. 

“I just always wanted to do that,” Lena smiled brightly.

“I think you should do it more,” Kara laughed, placing a quick and chaste kiss to Lena’s lips, “I like it,”. 

“Noted,” Lena definitely didn’t mean to sound as flirty as she did. 

The food turned out to be amazing that night but the best part came when Lena was leaving and Kara brought her into a long kiss that sucked all the breath from her lungs before whispering huskily against Lena’s lips, “Stay over,”. 

  
Lena couldn’t exactly say ‘no’ nor could she exactly say ‘yes’; she was very out of breath so instead she just nodded and captured Kara’s lips in another kiss driven completely by passion and fervour. A tone that continued for a long time until it turned slower and more sensual, more about love than passion. There was so much unspoken love that night.

After that Lena spent most of every single day feeling loved by Kara. There were her regular texts of stupid memes that she’d seen, a lot of puppies that she’d met and exuberant amounts of so bad they’re good jokes which were all only aimed at putting a smile of Lena’s face. 

Then there were the regular food deliveries, Kara’s complete obsession with Lena’s eating habits didn’t go unnoticed by anyone, especially Jess whose most difficult job of making Lena eat was completely taken over by a super salad service as Kara had insisted on nicknaming it as she listened to Jess tell her about Supergirl’s food deliveries with a look of completely unconvincing innocence (Alex and Lena organised for Jess to sign NDAs even though Kara denied vehemently she knew (she definitely knew)). 

Then there was one job that Kara created, largely due to the fact she was the only one who could ever succeed in the task, getting Lena home only an hour or two after Lena should have been home might have been Kara’s biggest success (at least in Sam’s opinion). Lena didn’t make it easy but Kara had a killer pout and a lot of amazing promises that she always kept. 

There was one night though that Kara somehow managed to go above and beyond (even higher than normal Kara ZorEl Danvers standards). Lena had been working late in the lab, she was determined to finish her plans to recreate the process of photosynthesis in machines in an energy-efficient way to help reverse climate change, it was kind of a big deal. 

“It’s eight o’clock at night,”. Lena spun around at the sound of Kara’s voice in the doorway. She might have slightly lost track of time when she sent Jess home at midday. “Have you eaten anything today?” Kara went on. Lena might have also lost track of food. 

“I had breakfast,” Lena mumbled, turning back to her whiteboard with Maths scrawled all across it, adding a small note to one of the equations. She wasn’t quite sure if it made sense or not. Kara supersped in front of Lena and Lena mentally cursed superpowers as the board was pushed out of the way. 

“You need to eat,” Kara held up a bottle of water and two Tupperware: one filled with what seemed to be brown rice, salmon and some other things and the other filled with cinnamon french toast, easily recognisable considering it was one of Kara’s favourite things to cook. Lena had recently discovered Kara’s talent for cooking. It was definitely a talent. That might have been the thing that made Lena want to just sit down and eat with Kara. Either that or her complete exhaustion meant she really couldn't be arsed to fight with her superpowered girlfriend who had a distinct ability to recharge under the yellow sun. 

Lena took a deep breath, “Fine,” she sighed.

Kara’s head turned to look at Lena seriously, her mouth falling open as she almost dropped the food that she was holding. “What?” she whispered in what sounded like the complete shock and surprise someone would display if they were to find out that competitive art used to be an Olympic sport or that female kangaroos have three vaginas (hindsight allowed Lena to know Kara’s face when she discovered those facts was very similar). 

“Let me help you with that,” Lena laughed, taking the food out of Kara’s hands and putting it onto one of the lab tables behind her before closing Kara’s jaw. 

“I expected you to fight a little more,” Kara breathed. 

  
“I’m tired and you have the high ground,” Lena sighed, “What did you make?”. 

“Brown rice with quinoa and salmon and then cinnamon french toast. It’s meant to be easily digestible carbs and brain food,” Kara sat down opposite Lena, “And then water because you need that too,”. 

“Thank you,” Lena breathed.

Lena had inhaled all of the food, it tasted amazing and Lena hadn’t realised how hungry she actually was, while Kara talked her ear off about her day at work. It was something Lena could probably listen to all day. Kara’s rambles with about fifteen tangents and sixteen side stories were unparalleled to anything else Lena had heard and they were careening toward becoming Lena’s favourite thing. One advantage of them, though, was that Kara had a habit of getting very distracted so after Lena had eaten all the food she could get away with continuing the Maths on the whiteboard while she listened to Kara. 

When Kara finished her story, which Lena thought it started about an article she was writing but had somehow ended up with tangents about cookies, movies and monsters. But once she finished she realised the time.    
  


“Eleven o’clock,” she choked on the water she was drinking as she looked at her watch and then up at Lena who was still half-focused on the whiteboard figuring out the physics. “You need to sleep,” Kara insisted. 

Lena saw it in two ways. She had two options. Relent and go home with Kara or stay and finish the something like  an hour three minutes worth of maths left to do. She knew which one that she wanted to do so she ignored Kara. 

“Five more minutes,” she mumbled, she was on a roll, “You can go,” she added after a beat. It would be easier to sleep at the office and Kara would never let it happen. 

“I’ll wait,” she could hear Kara’s smile as she heard her sit back down in one of the chairs, “But I am going to make sure you’re asleep by midnight if it’s the last thing I do,” she warned. Lena just nodded and continued to work on the Maths. 

Lena made one mistake. One thing she didn’t catch before it happened. She yawned. She opened her mouth and she yawned. Regret didn’t cover it. She thought she could at least make it till quarter to midnight before Kara dragged her out but it was only eleven twenty and she was yawning. She felt what Kara was going to say before she even said it but Kara didn’t even bother to say it; Lena just found herself being scooped into Kara’s arms bridal style. 

“Kara. I’m not tired,” Lena warned, not even convincing herself as she put the cap on the whiteboard pen. 

“You obviously are,” Kara placed a kiss to Lena’s forehead and then her cheek and under Lena’s jaw each time Lena went to protest. Lena’s final attempt to protest might have been slightly fake just so Kara would place that small kiss to her lips. 

“Fine,” Lena sighed. 

“I’ll come back for this whiteboard,” Kara smiled victoriously as Lena pressed a grateful kiss to Kara’s cheek. She hated when Kara was right. 

Lena discovered at four in the morning when she coincidently happened to wake up that Kara had gone back for the whiteboard. Which saved her a chore because it wasn’t like she was going to really sleep well until she had finished. So she started on the Maths again. She was very close to finishing, after all, at least she thought she was at the time. It turned out that she couldn’t write as quickly as her brain thought. 

It took fifteen minutes for Kara to find her. It might have been quicker however Lena only saw Kara when she looked up after fifteen minutes. She was leaning against the doorway, bleary-eyed, just watching Lena.    
  


“You should go back to sleep,” Lena smiled over at her girlfriend. 

“Not until you finish. I can help,” Kara stifled a cute yawn as she pushed herself off the wall to walk over to Lena, “Plus I can’t sleep without you,” Kara smiled sweetly as she came up behind Lena and wrapped her arms around her, pressing a small kiss to Lena’s neck. 

“I knew a lot of Maths on Krypton and Alex taught me all the conversions so just tell me what to write and I’ll write it,” Kara went on, taking the pen out of Lena’s hand and lifting her up and moving her out of the way so she could get to the board. Lena didn’t even question how Kara lifted her like she was a feather, more focused on the fact Kara knew lots about Maths. 

“Do you understand what that says then?” Lena asked as Kara added a small symbol somewhere on the board. 

“Yep,” Kara smiled brightly, “But you’re the genius here so let’s go,” she spun around, looking at Lena expectantly. “Or do you want a cup of tea first because I can make that quickly,” she offered, her eyes wide and innocent and full of love. It was the first time Lena let herself actually recognise it at that moment. Maybe it was her tiredness or just Kara’s huge smile and innocence, the fact she knew Kara wouldn’t even see it as any kind of gesture because it was just Kara. 

It was always just Kara, like the time Lena fell sick, which never usually happened, but somehow she managed to get a horrible bout of the flu which left her unable to go to work and somehow Kara discovered that she had the flu even though Lena had made sure no one found out. She suspected Jess to be the source. 

Kara discovering she had the flu was what led to a streak of red and blue flying into her apartment at eight in the morning, clearing away all the tissues Lena had thrown across the floor in an instant before materialising in front of her dressed in sweats and carrying multiple blankets which more sweats balanced on top with Tupperware on top of that.

“This might be a dream,” Lena laughed, it would have been a witty comment if it weren’t for the fact it ended up sounding like ‘Dis bight be a dream’. Not her proudest moment. Kara just shook her head. 

“First of all, you don’t have enough comfortable things in your apartment still,” Kara sighed, wrapping a blanket around Lena and placing a kiss to the top of her head. “And second of all, why did I have to find out you were sick from Jess?” Kara asked before a gust of wind hit Lena and Kara sat down next to her. The Tupperware, blankets and sweats gone from her hands which were instead wrapping around Lena. 

“I don’t get sick,” Lena pouted, her ‘s’ sounding like a very ironic 'd’. She heard her rather immature girlfriend snigger slightly next to her. If it weren’t for the fact she was very comfortable and her blankets were very soft Lena would already be telling her to get out. No one saw her when she was sick. 

“Well that’s obviously not true,” Kara’s voice was soft, at a whisper as she spoke. “And if you do get sick, as your girlfriend, it’s my job to provide a special super support service,”. 

“Speaking of super and jobs don’t you have that to do,” Lena mumbled reluctantly, she didn’t want to give Kara an excuse to go. 

“J’onn and Nia are covering for me. I have vacation days saved up,” Kara shrugged, “Now, what movie do you want to watch?”. 

In that moment Lena broke all her rules as she took a deep breath ready to speak, “Whatever you want, darling,” she smiled. She let Kara stay, she let Kara see her when she was sick and judging by the movie that had managed to appear on Lena’s TV screen in the one second Lena thought she was about to watch Disney too and she was looking forward to it and hoping it was a musical for some reason. Lena had almost transformed beyond belief. Kara’s singing voice had that power. 

“I made chicken soup when you’re hungry,” Kara whispered as the embarrassingly familiar first scene of Mulan appeared on the screen. If Lillian could see her now. 

That was the moment Lena knew she had to confront the fact Kara had truly smashed through all of her walls but she was yet to turn the remains to dust, that happened on one fateful trip to Midvale when she met Eliza for the first time as Kara's girlfriend. 

“Pull over,” Kara insisted before adding more softly, “Let me drive for a while,”. It had been five hours of Lena driving non-stop. She just wanted to get there and the first four were easy but the night was falling and Lena’s tiredness was settling in. Kara knew it, Lena knew it. Lena was never going to admit it. 

“You hate driving,” Lena sighed, pressing her foot on the gas a little to make her point. She wasn’t as tired as Kara thought. 

“And you’re tired,” Kara shook her head at Lena who had to stifle her yawn, “These roads are direct and easy, just let me take the wheel for a while. You need a break,”.

“I’m fine, Kara,” Lena hadn’t meant to snap as much as she did, maybe Kara was a little right. She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, her heartbeat filling her ears as she took a deep breath, trying not to freak out about accidentally pissing off Kara. It is not a good idea to piss off your girlfriend while driving to meet her mom. Lena slowed the car a little, turning to look at Kara. 

  
“I didn’t mean to say it like that, darling, I’m so sorry,” the words were leaving her mouth before her brain even thought about them, “I’m just tired and it’s a long drive and my leg hurts a bit from being on the gas the whole time and,” Lena spotted Kara’s mouth uptick into a smirk and trailed off. 

“What?” Lena sighed, studying Kara’s face in glances as she tried to stay focused on the road. 

“Are you admitting I’m right?” the blonde smiled, her blue eyes sparkling with glee. Lena tried to keep a straight face as she turned her head, fully focusing on the road. She pressed her lips together to avoid smiling, she could feel Kara’s smiling eyes on her and Kara’s smile was like the plague, there was a reason she lit up every room she was in. 

“No,” Lean eventually muttered, when she was sure she wouldn’t laugh. 

“Sure,” Kara smirked, clearly unconvinced as she lifted her feet onto the dashboard, crossing her legs over. She was almost basking in her glory. Lena knew the question was coming and was transferring lanes before Kara even asked. She wasn’t going to give Kara the success of hearing Lena say it aloud. A layby came up and Lena pulled over and sighed at Kara’s successful smile. 

“Don’t,” she warned. 

  
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Kara shrugged, reaching into the back before she got out of the car and meeting Lena just in front as they switched spots, holding a travel pillow and blanket out to her. 

“I’m not that tired,” Lena took the blanket and pillow off Kara. 

  
“Tyr to get some sleep, please,” Kara pouted, placing a kiss to Lena’s cheek before running around to the driver’s side and getting in. Lena tried to hide her smile and went to her side of the car, opening the door. 

She definitely fell asleep and it was annoyingly comfortable. She hated when Kara was right. That was the final time before it happened. Before it really happened. Lena’s walls were definitely dust by the time she woke up and just to make sure Kara spent the weekend vacuuming up all the dust so there weren’t even remains with her easy smile and excitable tours of Midvale. 

Then it happened and Lena realised her walls were gone. She didn’t know why then. Looking back, with a little help from Alex, she knows why now. It was the little actions of love before the last but by no means final one. 

It was a mundane Monday morning. A week since they returned from Midvale and they were at Kara’s place and had  slept missed Kara’s alarm, due to unexplainable reasons which led to Lena running around the apartment, desperately trying to get ready before her morning meetings while Kara helped her, relaxed due to the fact she didn’t have to be in till the afternoon with a plan to follow a lead that morning. 

Kara handed Lena her bag just as she was at the door, leaning forward and pecking the quickest kiss in the world to Lena’s lips as she handed it to her before going to kick her out the door, passing Lena her jacket. 

“Bye, darling,” Lena had smiled as she hopped down the hall, still fastening the final part of one shoe. 

“Bye, Lele. I love you,” Kara called back and Lena almost fell over as the words pierced her eardrums, drove a spike through her brain and shattered her heart as she desperately tried to process them. She knew Kara loved her but now she knew Kara loved her. It made no sense but it made all the sense. It was like everything just fell into place. 

However, Lena could still feel an unmoved Kara stiff against the door frame, muttering incoherent words as a few punch sounds reverberated around the hall. Lena had to say something before Kara freaked out too much and the words left her mouth before she even thought. 

“I love you too,” it sounded foreign to even Lena’s own ears. She felt all the tension in the hallway release as Kara sighed behind her. Lena kept on walking, reaching the open elevator and pressing the close door button but then someone was in there, pushing her against the wall and pressing unmistakable lips to Lena’s for just a second before they pulled away. 

“You love me?” Kara whispered. Innocent, exposed and trusting, a hidden pain behind it all that begged Lena not to hurt her. Lena would rather die. 

“Of course I do, you dork,” Lena laughed, leaning in closer to Kara so their lips were inches apart, “I love you,” she whispered. 

“I love you,” Kara’s breath ghosted over Lena’s face and sent shivers across her body only quelled by the warmth of Kara's words. 

“I love you,” Lena found herself replying. 

“I love you,” Kara laughed, before capturing Lena’s lips in a deep but quick kiss. Lena pulled away this time. 

“I love you,” she whispered as soon as her lips were free. 

The best three words in the Oxford English dictionary. Still, one of Lena’s favourite moments even if she was (maybe just a bit more than) a little late to work. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this. Please leave a comment or kudos if you did maybe please and if you want to chat about how canon supercorp is a bitch who can find me on Tumblr and Instagram (both @trixicbean). Thank you for bothering to read this.   
> Avery :)


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